Our Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education, Professor Martin Stringer, recently announced Swansea University’s Learning and Teaching Strategy for the next five years.
In order to achieve the six objectives outlined in the strategy, our curriculum will embed certain characteristics. Among them is a pledge to improve the effectiveness of assessment and feedback methods for staff and students at Swansea University. This is one of many key factors in achieving our centenary commitments, by working in partnership to deliver our ‘Swansea Graduate’ goals.
Over the past two years, SALT’s ‘Seven Characteristics of a Good University Teacher’ CPD programme has featured examples of best assessment and feedback practice. Not only giving promptfeedback (as in Chickering and Gamson’s principle of good practice) but effectivefeedback that students and staff engage with, and which is applied to ongoing work in order to make progress.
7Cs Seminar: Feedback Journals
One popular SALT ‘7Cs’ seminar was presented by Swansea’s new Dean of Assessment, Dr Joanne Berry (COAH), during which the following questions were addressed:
Why don’t students engage with their feedback?
How can staff provide good feedback that is specific, read, understood, engaged with, reviewed and applied?
What tools can be utilised in this process?
How can staff and students think about and reflect on feedback together, to move forward?
How can staff see where students think they are, where they actually are, and identify ways in which they can be helped to make progress?
How can help be targeted?
How can we develop strategies for improvement?
Dr Berry’s ‘Feedback Journals’ became a focus for reflection and meaningful discussions in academic mentorship meetings, with anticipated and unanticipated results.
Learn more about the development, use and outcomes of Feedback Journals by watching this 32-minute video:
If you are a member of Swansea University teaching staff and have any questions or require support with your feedback strategies, the SALT team are happy to discuss your support requirements and signpost you to other helpful resources.
Or, if you would like to share a feedback strategy that has worked well for you and your students, I would love to hear from you. Feel free to contact me via any of the methods below:
This blog is about active learning and its growing importance in Higher Education.
It’s also a great opportunity to offer my insight from the SALT ‘7Cs’ January workshop led by Dr. Patricia Xavier from Swansea University’s College of Engineering, ‘Dynamism, conversation and challenge: using active learning and assessment to engage passive learners’.
What is active learning?
‘‘Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much just by sitting in classes listening to teachers, memorizing pre-packaged assignments and spitting out answers. They must talk about what they are learning, write about it, relate it to past experiences, and apply it to their daily lives. They must make what they learn part of themselves’’ (Chickering & Gamson 1987).
‘Uses active learning techniques’ is one among the ‘Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education’ originally published in 1987 by Chickering and Gamson.
Here are all seven in the original order presented…
Encourages contact between students and faculty
Develops reciprocity and cooperation among students
Uses active learning techniques
Gives prompt feedback
Emphasises time on task
Communicates high expectations
Respects diverse talents and ways of doing things
Excellent learning and teaching often combines several or all of the principles in a certain approach.
Some good examples from Swansea University can be found on this link to the ‘Seven Characteristics of a Good University Teacher’ seminar and workshop programme, inspired by a combination of Chickering and Gamson’s work and Swansea University qualitative module feedback, where you can find videos and blogs on past events and reservation links to upcoming ones.
Chickering and Gamson’s examples of active learning techniques include:-
Structured exercises
Challenging discussions
Team projects
Peer critiques
Outside the classroom e.g. internships
Independent study
Cooperative job programmes
Students co-designing and co-teaching
All of the above remain crucial areas of academic development in HE today, along with newer concepts such as ‘the flipped classroom’ and ‘blended learning’, which often incorporate learning technologies not imagined in 1989.
Active Spaces and Active Minds
In the HE context, the term ‘active learning’ is now synonymous with the spaces and environments within which active learning takes place, as traditional lecture theatres with large cohorts of students pose challenges in being able to adopt a more active approach. Solutions are sought in using space in innovative ways conducive to active learning, and technology has also enhanced active learning opportunities for larger groups, e.g. A019 at The Bay Campus at Swansea University.
However, it’s important to remember that the concept of active learning is an umbrella term for learning through all sorts of meaningful activities. It’s about the cognitive processes experienced by the learner, rather than the learning environments they are in, per se. By thinking creatively, we can create opportunities for active learning in many areas of ‘traditional’ teaching and learning (such as in the example below).
Active learning techniques are also favoured by employers, offering ‘more opportunity to embed skill enhancement’ such as problem solving, teamwork, communication and enthusiasm…’ (Power 2012).
January’s 7Cs Workshop:
‘Dynamism, conversation and challenge: using active learning and assessment to engage passive learners’
In this session held at A019 The Bay Campus, Dr Patricia Xavier from Swansea University’s College of Engineering shared and reflected upon her experience of introducing active learning and assessment techniques to groups of over 160 students. The session included the chance to participate in one of her active learning exercises.
Why Change?
Patricia began the session by asking us to think about terms such as ‘active’, ‘problem-based’ and ‘experience-based’ learning….what do these pedagogies have in common? They involve students being more ACTIVE rather than in their learning. Patricia quoted Dr Ben Brabon, Senior Advisor at Advance HE, who recently argued that people learn best
‘through doing, asking questions and self-constructing their knowledge. What we discover we are more likely to retain’ (Dr Ben Brabon, 2019)
Patricia explained that her motivation for introducing more active techniques to a construction management module was motivated by many factors – awareness of the pedagogical evidence, learning from peers at SALT conferences, but also first- hand experience of deteriorating attendance and absence of questions asked by and of students in large lectures. Speaking to students revealed an acceptance of the idea that a minimal amount of learning taking place in large lectures, of not retaining much knowledge from them, but simply seeing them as places to be signposted to learn in their own time.
What changed?
With careful planning, Patricia revised her approach to include:-
timetabled group learning sessions
examination of case studies and project data
exploration of interactive tasks
peer interaction and instruction
structured ‘paired’ weeks
formative assessed tasks with feedback, to precede summative ones
Tasks were designed to meet learning outcomes through students:-
spending more time together
discovering things for themselves
problem-solving, and
engaging in discussion
Patricia wanted to avoid micro-managing tasks but was available throughout the sessions to answer questions and facilitate the group work, at times having some assistance from a very small number of Demonstrators.
166 students were assigned to four-hour sessions of the above nature. There was an element of self-selection into groups of 3, then groups were groups paired, with some consideration of ability level. It’s important to stress at this stage that her formative assessment sessions were not compulsory, yet students attended.
Getting on with it!
We were asked to ‘get active’. Putting ourselves in the role of students in groups of four, we attempted one of the activities she had actually used in one of her sessions. I thought this was an interesting and revealing workshop strategy, as we found ourselves experiencing similar emotions to that of Patricia’s students i.e. initial confusion giving way to satisfaction and a sense of achievement as the task progressed. We were asked to capture these emotions on post-it notes – very useful to draw on in risk management.
The ‘7C’s’ session was held in room A019, Engineering Central, which is one of Swansea University’s new bespoke active learning spaces, but Patricia explained that she had introduced her active methods in general teaching rooms big enough to accommodate her students, without any special equipment or software.
Was it worth the change?
Patricia invited feedback from her students, which initially included some opposition – they certainly felt they were being challenged and doing something different to the norm. However, Patricia found that the feedback and reassurance she offered back, combined with the benefits of the approach soon speaking for itself in terms of students’ learning, feedback quickly became very positive, quoting the fun, high level of engagement and staff-student interaction among the things they liked best. Feedback started to include the comment ‘thank-you’.
Were there lessons learned?
Yes. Patricia identified several, which should feature in the risk management of anyone thinking of adopting a similar approach.
Managing anxiety levels
Facilitation of large groups
Mitigation of language difficulties
These could all be addressed in the pre-session information given to prepare students e.g. glossaries, management of expectations, clear explanation of the advantages of active learning.
At the end of the session, I left thinking that Patricia’s new approach echoes many of the ‘Seven Principles of Good Undergraduate Practice’, and was both inspirational and practically helpful to colleagues thinking to make changes in their own teaching and learning.
If you have an example of active learning, especially in the context of a large group/cohort, we would love to hear about it at SALT. Please feel free to comment on the blog or message Rhian at SALT on r.e.ellis@swansea.ac.uk, tweet @rhianellis #susaltcpd.
Additional Resources
(1) Image provided by Stephanie Groshell and Zach Groshell, Education Rickshaw.com:
Research findings on the seven principles. In A.W. Chickering & Z.F. Gamson (Eds.) Applying the seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education (pp. 13-25). New Directions for Teaching and Learning, No. 47. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/tl.v1991:47/issuetoc
Power, Jess (2012) Promoting Employability Skills through Active Learning. In: The Second Employability, Enterprise, & Citizenship in Higher Education Conference, Tuesday 27th March 2012, Manchester, UK.
Mae’r blog hwn yn trafod DYSGU GWEITHREDOL a’i bwysigrwydd cynyddol ym maes Addysg Uwch.Mae hefyd yn gyfle gwych i mi gynnig cipolwg i chi ar weithdy ‘7C’ adlewyrchol iawn Academi Dysgu ac Addysgu Abertawe dan arweiniad Dr Patricia Xavier o Goleg Peirianneg Prifysgol Abertawe, a’r teitl difyr iawn oedd:‘Dynamism, conversation and challenge: using active learning and assessment to engage passive learners’.
Beth yw dysgu gweithgar?
‘‘Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much just by sitting in classes listening to teachers, memorizing pre-packaged assignments and spitting out answers. They must talk about what they are learning, write about it, relate it to past experiences, and apply it to their daily lives. They must make what they learn part of themselves’’ (Chickering & Gamson 1987).
Mae’r ‘defnydd o ddulliau dysgu gweithredol’ yn un o’r ‘Saith Egwyddor Arfer Da mewn Addysg Israddedig’ a gyhoeddwyd yn wreiddiol ym 1987 gan Chickering a Gamson.
Dyma bob un o’r saith yn y drefn wreiddiol a gyflwynwyd…
Yn annog cyswllt rhwng myfyrwyr â chyfadrannau
Yn datblygu dwyochredd a chydweithrediad ymhlith myfyrwyr
Yn defnyddio dulliau dysgu gweithredol
Yn rhoi adborth prydlon
Yn pwysleisio amser ar dasg
Yn cyfleu disgwyliadau uchel
Yn parchu amrywiaeth o ddoniau a ffyrdd o wneud pethau.
Mae dysgu ac addysgu ardderchog yn aml yn cyfuno pob un o’r saith egwyddor mewn dull penodol – gellir disgrifio llawer o’r rhain yn ‘weithredol.’ Gellir dod o hyd i enghreifftiau da o Brifysgol Abertawe ar y ddolen hon i’r rhaglen o seminarau a gweithdai Saith Nodwedd sy’n gwneud Athro Da yn y Brifysgol,’ lle gallwch weld fideos a blogiau ar ddigwyddiadau blaenorol yn ogystal â dolenni i gofrestru ar gyfer rhai yn y dyfodol.
Mae eu henghreifftiau nhw o ddulliau dysgu gweithredol yn cynnwys:-
Ymarferion strwythuredig
Trafodaethau heriol
Prosiectau tîm
Beirniadaethau gan gymheiriaid
Y tu hwnt i’r ystafell ddosbarth e.e. interniaethau
Astudio annibynnol
Rhaglenni gwaith cydweithredol
Myfyrwyr yn dylunio ac yn addysgu ar y cyd
Mae pob un o’r uchod yn parhau’n feysydd hanfodol o ran datblygiad academaidd ym maes Addysg Uwch heddiw, yn ogystal â chysyniadau mwy newydd megis ‘yr ystafell ddosbarth wrthdro’ a ‘dysgu cyfunol’ sy’n aml yn cynnwys technolegau dysgu na feddyliwyd amdanynt ym 1989.
Mannau Gweithredol a Meddyliau Gweithredol
Yng nghyd-destun addysg uwch, mae’r term ‘dysgu gweithredol’ bellach yn gyfystyr â’r mannau a’r amgylcheddau y cynhelir dysgu gweithredol ynddynt, oherwydd bod heriau’n gysylltiedig â darlithfeydd traddodiadol gyda charfannau mawr o fyfyrwyr o ran y gallu i fabwysiadu dull mwy gweithredol ynddynt. Gellir ceisio atebion o ran defnyddio mannau mewn ffyrdd arloesol sy’n addas ar gyfer dysgu gweithredol, ac mae technoleg hefyd wedi gwella’r cyfleoedd dysgu gweithredol ar gyfer grwpiau mwy e.e. A019 ar Gampws y Bae ym Mhrifysgol Abertawe.
Fodd bynnag, mae’n bwysig cofio mae term ambarél yw dysgu gweithredol ar gyfer dysgu drwy bob math o weithgareddau ystyrlon. Mae’n ymwneud â’r prosesau gwybyddol y mae’r dysgwr yn eu profi yn hytrach na’r amgylcheddau dysgu y maen nhw ynddynt fel y cyfryw. Trwy feddwl yn greadigol, gallwn greu cyfleoedd ar gyfer dysgu gweithredol mewn sawl maes o ‘ddysgu ac addysgu traddodiadol.’Mae cyflogwyr hefyd yn cefnogi dulliau dysgu gweithredol am eu bod yn cynnig ‘mwy o gyfleoedd i ymgorffori’r broses o wella sgiliau ynddynt, megis datrys problemau, gweithio mewn tîm, cyfathrebu a brwdfrydedd…’ (Power 2012).
Gweithdy 7C Ionawr
Dynamism, conversation and challenge: using active learning and assessment to engage passive learners’
Yn y sesiwn hon yn A019 ar Gampws y Bae, bu Dr Patricia Xavier yn rhannu ac yn myfyrio ynghylch ei phrofiadau o gyflwyno dulliau dysgu ac asesu gweithredol i grwpiau o dros 160 o fyfyrwyr, ac roedd y gweithdy’n cynnwys y cyfle i gymryd rhan mewn un o’i hymarferion dysgu gweithredol.
Pam newid?
Dechreuodd Patricia y sesiwn drwy ofyn i ni feddwl am dermau megis dysgu ‘gweithredol,’ ‘seiliedig ar broblem’ a ‘seiliedig ar brofiad’…beth sy’n debyg rhwng y dulliau addysgu hyn?Maen nhw’n golygu bod myfyrwyr yn fwy GWEITHREDOL yn hytrach na GODDEFOL yn eu dysgu.Dyfynnodd Patricia Dr Ben Branon, Uwch-ymgynghorydd yn Advance HE, a fu’n dadlau’n ddiweddar bod pobl yn dysgu’n well ‘drwy wneud, gofyn cwestiynau ac adeiladu eu gwybodaeth eu hunain. Rydym yn fwy tebygol o ddal gafael ar yr hyn rydym ni’n ei ddarganfod.’
Esboniodd Patricia fod nifer o ffactorau wedi ei chymell i gyflwyno mwy o ddulliau gweithredol i fodiwl rheoli adeiladu – ymwybyddiaeth o’r dystiolaeth addysgu, dysgu gan gymheiriaid mewn cynadleddau Academaidd Dysgu ac Addysgu Abertawe, yn ogystal â phrofiad ymarferol o bresenoldeb sy’n gwaethygu, a diffyg cwestiynau a ofynnir gan fyfyrwyr mewn darlithoedd mawr.Wrth siarad â myfyrwyr, derbyniodd y syniad mai prin yw’r dysgu sy’n digwydd mewn darlithoedd mawr, nid yw’r myfyrwyr yn dal gafael ar lawer o wybodaeth. Yn syml, maen nhw’n eu gweld fel mannau i’w cyfeirio at ddysgu yn eu hamser eu hunain.
Beth sydd wedi newid?
Felly, er iddi boeni, diwygiodd Patricia ei dull i gynnwys y canlynol:
sesiynau dysgu grŵp a amserlennwyd
astudio astudiaethau achos a data prosiectau
archwilio tasgau rhyngweithiol
rhyngweithio a chael cyfarwyddiadau gan gymheiriaid
wythnosau ‘paru’ strwythuredig
tasgau a aseswyd yn ffurfiannol gydag adborth cyn rhai crynodol
Dyluniwyd tasgau’n ofalus i ddiwallu deilliannau dysgu, drwy sicrhau bod y myfyrwyr yn:-
treulio mwy o amser gyda’i gilydd
darganfod pethau drostynt eu hunain
datrys problemau, a
chymryd rhan mewn trafodaethau.
Roedd Patricia am osgoi micro-reoli tasgau, ond roedd hi ar gael drwy gydol y sesiynau i ateb cwestiynau a hwyluso gwaith grŵp. Roedd hi’n cael cefnogaeth gan nifer fach iawn o ddangoswyr ar adegau.
Cafodd 166 o fyfyrwyr eu neilltuo i sesiynau pedair awr tebyg i’r uchod. Roedd elfen o hunan ddewis i grwpiau o 3, yna roedd grwpiau’n cael eu paru. Rhoddwyd rhywfaint o ystyriaeth i lefelau gallu. Mae’n bwysig pwysleisio ar yr adeg hon nad oedd eu sesiynau asesu ffurfiannol yn orfodol ond eto, roedd myfyrwyr yn mynd iddynt.
Mynd ati!
Gofynnwyd i ni ‘fod yn weithredol.’Drwy chwarae rôl myfyrwyr mewn grwpiau o bedwar, gwnaethom roi cynnig ar un o’r gweithgareddau roedd hi wedi’i ddefnyddio go iawn yn un o’i sesiynau.Yn fy marn i, dyma strategaeth weithdy diddorol a dadlennol, oherwydd ein bod ni’n canfod ein bod yn profi emosiynau tebyg i fyfyrwyr Patricia h.y. teimlo’n ddryslyd i gychwyn yna boddhad ac ymdeimlad o gyflawniad wrth i’r dasg fynd rhagddi. Gofynnwyd i ni nodi’r emosiynau hyn ar ddarnau o bapur – defnyddiol iawn i gyfeirio atynt wrth reoli risgiau.
Cynhaliwyd y sesiwn ‘7C’ yn ystafell A019, Adeilad Canolog Peirianneg, sef un o fannau dysgu gweithredol pwrpasol newydd Prifysgol Abertawe, ond, esboniodd Patricia ei bod hi wedi cyflwyno ei dulliau gweithredol mewn ystafelloedd addysgu cyffredinol a oedd yn ddigon mawr ar gyfer ei myfyrwyr, heb unrhyw offer neu feddalwedd arbenigol.
A oedd hi’n werth y newid?
Gofynnodd Patricia am adborth gan ei myfyrwyr, ac i gychwyn roedd rhai’n gwrthwynebu – roeddent yn amlwg yn teimlo eu bod yn cael eu herio ac yn gwneud rhywbeth a oedd yn wahanol i’r arfer. Fodd bynnag, canfu Patricia fod yr adborth a’r sicrwydd roedd hi’n eu cynnig yn gyfnewid, ar y cyd â manteision y dull yn dweud cyfrolau am ddysgu myfyrwyr. Yn fuan daeth yr adborth yn gadarnhaol iawn, ac roeddent yn dyfynnu’r hwyl, y lefel uchel o ymgysylltiad a’r rhyngweithio rhwng staff a myfyrwyr ymysg y pethau yr oeddent yn eu hoffi orau.Dechreuodd yr adborth gynnwys y sylw ‘diolch yn fawr.’
A oedd anawsterau?
Oedd. Nododd Patricia lawer, a ddylai fod yn amlwg yn nogfennau rheoli risgiau unrhyw un sy’n ystyried mabwysiadau dull tebyg.
Rheoli lefelau gorbryder
Hwyluso grwpiau mwy
Lliniaru anawsterau o ran iaith
Gellid mynd i’r afael â phob un o’r rhain yn yr wybodaeth cyn-sesiynol a roddir i baratoi myfyrwyr e.e. rhestrau termau, rheoli disgwyliadau, esboniad eglur o fanteision dysgu gweithredol.
Ar ddiwedd y sesiwn, gadawais yn meddwl bod dull newydd Patricia yn adleisio sawl un o’r ‘Saith Egwyddor Arfer Da mewn Addysg Israddedig,’ ac roedd yn ysbrydoledig ac o gymorth yn ymarferol i gydweithwyr sy’n ystyried gwneud eu newidiadau i’w dysgu ac addysgu eu hunain.
Research findings on the seven principles. Yn A.W. Chickering & Z.F. Gamson (Eds.) Applying the seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education (pp. 13-25). New Directions for Teaching and Learning, No. 47. San Ffrancisco: Jossey-Bass. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/tl.v1991:47/issuetoc
Power, Jess (2012) Promoting Employability Skills through Active Learning. Yn: The Second Employability, Enterprise, & Citizenship in Higher Education Conference, Dydd Mawrth 27 Mawrth 2012, Manceinion, DU.
[:en]Here in SALT, we thought we’d take a leaf out of PVC Stringer’s book and work on some New Year’s resolutions ourselves. Kicking off the blog posts is one of our newer team members, Rhian Ellis with her reflections on 2017 and what she’s hoping to achieve in 2018.
What have I achieved?
Rhian Ellis, Academic Developer, CPD Team
In September 2017, I was appointed to Swansea University’s Academy of Learning and Teaching as an Academic Developer, specialising in continued professional development. Getting to know my SALT colleagues and members of the wider University community has been a privilege, while settling into my new role. 2018 is going to be an exciting year! So, what have I learned since being here?
My career development in 2017 has encouraged me to reflect on my identity as a ‘learning teacher’ over a twenty-five year period of great change in education. Not only upon WHAT I have learned, but HOW I learned. I find Jane Hart’s curated list of current ‘Top Tools for Learning’ most interesting for this. It can be seen here in the video of her keynote speech on ‘Modern Workplace Learning’ at the SALT conference in 2017.
Image of tools taken from Jane Hart’s Conference Keynote 2017
I was surprised by how many tools I used daily (and encouraged my learners to use) for many years as a teacher, some of which were introduced in formal CPD sessions e.g. Prezi. I’m now discovering lots of new and useful ones on a weekly basis, often through my everyday interactions with colleagues and academic staff – another key characteristic of the ‘Modern Professional Learner’ celebrated by Jane Hart. Learning in this more casual way illustrates how CPD is often informal in nature. For example, the tips we get from others and then pass on.
Jane Hart suggests we count how many tools we use regularly in our professional and/or personal life.
When I did this, I realised that I developed my use of digital tools for learning far more than I imagined – even ‘google’ counts! Since September, I’m now using many more.
This reflection has encouraged me to be open-minded about trying out versatile tools such as ‘Padlet’, introduced to me by my SALT colleagues Debbie Baff and Mandy Jack in their September ‘TEL Month’ workshop. Here is a padlet I recently put together on ‘Feedback and Feedforward’ support. Look out for workshops on this theme with myself and Suzie Pugh from SALT in 2018, by the way! You can even contribute to the padlet if you wish.
Twitter is another tool I’ve used more for professional reasons in 2017. It featured as the top learning tool in Jane Hart’s research for ten years, only recently being over taken by You Tube. Twitter was created in 2006 by American founders Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone and Evan Williams, and now features a lot more than people’s dinner photos… thankfully! Twitter has become a useful platform for endless CPD opportunities, and I’m now a regular Twitter user.
So what are the benefits?
Twitter alone has enabled me to build a ‘trusted professional network’ at, through and for work. I now have a wealth of information at my fingertips. I have connected with world-leading experts who share current developments in higher education, including newly published research papers, topical issues, shared experience and thought provoking debate.
Using Tweetdeck allows me to coordinate and manage both my personal and SALT twitter accounts with ease. I took part in my first monthly Tweet chat on it recently, a ‘Peer Coaching’ forum, hosted by SDF.ac.uk. I contributed my experience of ‘peer triads’, and in turn learned about other coaching practices in the UK. @rhianellis3 @susaltteam
screenshot from Peer Coaching Tweetchat
A big thank you to my very own peer coaches, Louise Rees and Debbie Baff! Louise and Debbie introduced me to SDF.ac.uk, a helpful community of practice (we form a great example of a ‘peer triad’ in action, by the way!). The tweet chat generated useful ideas for future CPD possibilities here at Swansea University. I’m looking forward to the next chat on ‘Team Coaching’, January 26th 12-1pm.
I’ve also gained many new Twitter followers over recent months, mainly as a result of my retweets and comments. As a result I am developing my ‘on-line identity’, as well as contributing to a wider community of academic development.
Lots of academic staff at Swansea University share my enthusiasm for Twitter and its potential benefits. Connecting with you in this way has enabled me to get to know people’s specialisms, passions and questions. In turn, this can help inform CPD planning from SALT.
Now what…?
My intentions for further use of twitter include:-
Sharing expertise through more tweets
Refining the use of hashtags # to maximise engagement
Continuing to build my professional network
Applying my learning to CPD opportunities for academic staff at Swansea University
Promoting excellence in teaching and learning in 2018 and beyond
I also intend to devote a controlled amount of time to Twitter/Tweetdeck each week, flexing it around my priorities. One of the disadvantages of twitter is the risk of overspent time. As your profile increases in popularity, people may wish to interact with you more. Mobile devices also tempt frequent checking, so I have set myself strict boundaries.
My work in academic development in 2017 has definitely moved me even further along the ‘visitor-resident’ mode of engagement with digital learning tools, with lots of benefits.
My advice to anyone who may remain ‘on the fence’ about Twitter for CPD (as well digital teaching and learning tools) is to keep an open mind! There’s no obligation to ‘move in’, simply ‘visit’ whenever you choose and see if you find benefits too.
Happy tweeting in 2018 everyone! @rhianellis3 @susaltteam #CPD
Rhian
Blog created using Rolfe et al’s (2001) Reflective Model.
Rolfe, G. Freshwater, D., Jasper, M. (2001) Critical reflection in nursing and the helping professions: a user’s guide. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
We are encouraged to ‘reflect’ on our experiences, our behaviour, our progress over the year…what does this actually mean?